Customer Reviews

Luther Allison: Live in Paradise

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

there was no one quite like luther allison, originally thought of as a buddy guy clone people were finding out what a unique guitarist he was at the time of his death. this concert showcases luther's all out take no prisoners style. he was a fluid guitarist with little boundaries and an underrated vocalist. great sound and picture on this dvd.

The concert video "Luther Allison, Live in Paradise", provides a rare look at a true bluesman practicing his craft. Allison's live performances, as captured on several live cd's, were legendary. (When he was young, it was not unusual for him to perform nearly 4 hours onstage!) This particular video was filmed on the island of La Reunion, east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean; for much of his career, Allison lived in France and made only occasional appearances in the United States. Despite the concert clocking in at just about 2 1/2 hours, Allison's stamina and energy make it hard to believe that he would die of lung cancer less than 4 months later.

Allison had relatively recently returned to the US to record two cd's for Alligator records - "Blue Streak" and "Reckless". Highlights include "Cherry Red Wine" and "Move From the Hood" from the former, and "Pain in the Streets" and "It's a Blues Thing" from the latter. His longtime writing and performing partner, James Solberg, does not appear, nor do his bandmates from those recordings. Instead, he introduces "The New Luther Allison Band", a group of younger players that sometimes has a hard time keeping up with him, with one exception. The young Dutch keyboard player, Roel Spanjers, displays exceptional talent. The same cannot be said of the horns, Boney Fields on trumpet and Gib Monks on tenor, who appear sluggish at times and seemingly suffer from fatigue. An unusually ragged rendition of "Just As I Am" comes a bit past midway through the concert, but Allison redeems himself with some nice slide guitar on son Bernard's "Low Down and Dirty" and an extended version of Elmore Jame's classic "The Sky is Crying". On the latter, Allison wanders through the appreciative crowd. He also shows he can rock and roll with a lively crowd-pleasing rocker called "Parking Lot".

The encore numbers include a solid "Serious", during which Allison introduces his band, and short renditions of "You Can't Always Get What You Want" and "You Are So Beautiful". Allison seems to be enjoying himself very much and could probably have played all night if only the band could have kept up.

I have enjoyed Luther Allison's music for several years and enjoyed this chance to see him perform. Despite his fellow performers, Allison does not disappoint; his singing and playing are just as strong and emotional as ever. The man alone earns 4 stars for putting everything he had into the performance. Had he had a better band behind him, it would have been 5 stars, easy.

Wonderful performance and nicely filmed. The fact that he died within 6 months of this show made it even better. I am looking forward to more of Luther's work on video and many other blues artists. FINALLY'

This is a great performance from a legend. He was at his best for this performance. A great artist and performer who will be missed forever.

I hate concert videos. And mimes. But this the best video I own. And I have Young Frankenstien. Turn it up to 11.

For me, this video was on my to-buy-list for many years, but I finally tracked it down, getting the still-available VHS version instead of the more current DVD for the price break. Right off, I must say that this VHS version is excellent, but the video is worth the price if one finds it only in DVD format. While Luther Allison has a full music discography of many recordings over the years, videos of him are rare. This live show was filmed at Theatre St. Gilles, La Reunion Island, Indian Ocean on April 19,1997 and contains 17 songs and one introduction to a song. Luther Allison was an energetic powerhouse bluesman delivering the goods on vocals and/or guitar. He also was a songwriter. I enjoy his music on vinyl albums, tapes, and CDs, but here, one can also see him interacting with his band and audience. He was quite the showman. He could have just sang and played his music, but here his personality really shines through in this program of over 2.5 hours. Luther was a true champion and ambassador of the blues, and this video is a must-have for any fan of the unique high-powered electric blues that was Luther Allison's style.

I found Luther Allison about a month ago. Thank goodness I lived so long. Had to have this DVD despite the cost. Is there really no other video of him? Luther does a fine, fine job on most of these tunes, and the band backs him up more than adequately most of the time even though their cumulative efforts do not equal Luther's amazing chops on the guitar and vocals. It's good to put a face to the music and see some of the songs on CD come to life. Watching Luther Allison perform in the flesh (for 2 1/2 hours) makes the many technical shortcomings of the audio and video of this recorded performance just fall away.